We want to help create motivated and engaged young readers. This blog is about children's and YA literature (especially New Zealand), literacy research, and ways to get, and keep, kids reading.
Written by Neville Peat
NZ 629.130 WAL
Longacre Press 2006
Written by Neville Peat
NZ 629.130 WAL
Longacre Press 2006
A great read by Neville Peat, about the life and adventures of the pilot, deer farmer, business man and New Zealander, Sir Tim Wallis. It covers his work in the deer industry and his plane crashes. He had several! The book is illustrated with many wonderful black and white photographs, including some taken by Tim's wife, Prue. Quotes from Tim and related facts are interspersed throughout the book and make interesting asides.
This book is an appealing read for senior primary and junior secondary students with an interest in the outdoors and flying.
Reviewed by Heather
The following is a link to a brilliant book list compiled by one time children's laureate and talented children's author Michael Morpurgo, for the Telegraph newspaper. Entitled 100 books every child should read, it is divided into lists for Early Years, Middle Years and Teens. Michael says in the accompanying article,
"We get ourselves all hot and bothered about the teaching of reading, about synthetic phonics and the like, and we forget that none of it is much use unless children want to read in the first place. The motivation must come first, horse before cart."
It is important to remember that while literacy instruction is incredibly important, engaging and motivating your young reader not only enhances the process of learning to read, but it enriches the inner life of the reader as well!
Evolution, me and other freaks of nature, by Robin Brande
What has Mena Reece done to incur the wrath of her community? Why are Casey and his family, particularly his political activist sister Kayla, so intriguing and confronting to Mena; Why does all hell break lose when ms Shepherd starts teaching evolution in her science class? A thought provoking book examining science vs. intelligent design.
Suitable for Year 8 and secondary students
reviewed by Tracy
Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
Nine-year-old David has recently lost his mother to a freak accident, his salesman father is constantly on the road and David is venting his anger and deep sadness out on his grandmother. Sarcastic and bossy 13-year-old Primrose lives with her childlike, fortuneteller mother and a framed picture of Clark Gable, - who she almost believes is the father she never knew. Despite their differences, David and Primrose forge a tight yet tumultuous friendship. These complicated and damaged children help each other deal with what is missing in their lives. It is about deep pain, friendship, loss and recovery.
Suitable for intermediate and higher.
Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You, by Hanna Jansen
Based on a true story, that of the author's adopted daughter Jeanne, this book is compelling reading. As an account of the Tutsi massacre and the physical and emotional survival of a child, it lends itself well to many areas of the secondary curriculum. It is an excellent book.
by Fleur Beale
Published by Random House, 2007
Fleur Beale is noted for believable "real" dialogue among people and her ability to pull you into the story. There were many moments where I was there with the characters including the harrowing and exciting cliff scene and when Minna's mother is being very concerned about where and who Minna is going out with.
Written in first person the reader is instantly introduced to Minna Hargreaves and her brilliant city life - she has great friends and a new boyfriend. Minna is 14 and thinks she is ready to take the next step with Seb but then her Dad arrives home from work and disrupts everyone's lives…. Oddly, her mother agrees to go and live for a year with Dad, Noah, the 16-year-old brother with his own problems, and Minna on a tiny windswept island in Cook Strait.
The purpose is seeing what isolation does to the family dynamics and to make a new reality TV show starring the Hargreaves Family. How will Minna survive this nightmare? Recommended for good readers- intermediate age and secondary students/adults.
Read about Fleur Beale and her other books here
http://nzpoetlaureate.natlib.govt.nz
Michele Leggott, the New Zealand Poet Laureate, is blogging about her time as Poet Laureate. She'll be sharing her poetry, announcing events, and sharing other poetry-related news. More information about the NZ Poet Laureate award is also available here on the blog.
Michele has launched herblog by gathering memories and tributes from other poets about Hone Tuwhare, who died last week.
Michele has also made a huge list of poetry-related links, which you can get to from the sidebar of the blog, or on the National Library's de.licio.us page.
If you like quirky characters, a fresh and very original way of looking at the world and its inhabitants, then read this book! David Case is a 15 year old who manages to save his baby brother from certain death just in the nick of time - but what if he hadn't? David is a natural worrier who suddenly realises that Fate is out to get him unless he reinvents himself by changing his name, his appearance and his character.
Unfortunately, while outwardly David becomes Justin (his new name being just one instance of how this novel is suffused with dark humour), inwardly David is still David - moody, brooding and complex. The other characters bring light relief, especially his younger brother Charlie who, in spite of (or maybe, because of) his extreme youth, seems to understand David far better than he understands himself. Then there's Fate who is given a voice which is both sinister and curious. Not a book for readers who enjoy the safe and predictable, but definitely for ambitious young adults and adults who are ready for a challenge.
review by Katrina
Hone Tuwhare, one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed and beloved poets, died in his sleep yesterday, 16 January 2008.
Hone Tuwhare, one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed and beloved poets, died in his sleep yesterday, 16 January 2008.
Born near Kaikohe in 1922, of Ngā Puhi, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Korokoro, Tautahi, Uri o Hau, Te Popoto and Scottish descent, Tuwhare began reading and writing poetry when he was an apprentice at the Otahuhu Railways Workshop. He began writing seriously in the mid 1950s, and some of his earliest poems were published in the Māori magazine Te Ao Hou. You can read poems here and here , and an article about Tuwhare from Te Ao Hou here.
His first collection of poetry, No Ordinary Sun, was published in 1964. It was the first book of poems in the English language published by a Māori poet.
In 1969 Tuwhare was awarded the Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago. During his time in Dunedin he met artist Ralph Hotere, who created illustrations for four books of poetry Tuwhare published in the 1970s.
In the 1970s also Tuwhare became involved in Māori cultural and political initiatives. He was an organiser of the first Māori Writers and Artists Conference at Te Kaha in 1973 and participated in the 1975 Māori Land March.
Tuwhare was a prolific and popular writer, and received many recognitions. He was awarded two honorary degrees, and won two Montana New Zealand Book Awards. In 2001 he was named the second Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate.
In 2003 Tuwhare was named one of 10 living Icon Artists by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, and received the first Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement for poetry.
There’s lots of biographical info about Hone Tuwhare on the Book Council website, and a great timeline on this Hone Tuwhare website. You can read more poems here.
Image: Cover photograph of Hone Tuwhare by Ans Westra, from Te Ao Hou, No. 48 (September 1964).
0800 LIB LINE
0800 542 5463
Get help from our advisers using this free phone line
National Library of New Zealand
